Never Dream Alone
by luvsjoshfarro
Summary: It all starts with a dream. From a dream to murder. From murder to secrecy. Jayfeather can't control the realistically terrifying events that have begun to take place. The last thing he needs right now is romance...right? JayxCinder
1. Tigerstar

**Never Dream Alone**

**Hiya!!! This is my second Warriors story and this one won't suck! Lets try to get to 10 reviews people! Here we go!**

Jayfeather settled down groggily in his nest. Leafpool had kept him busy all day, counting poppy seeds and making marigold poultices. Now he couldn't wait for sleep. Hollyleaf and Lionblaze had brought him a plump thrush earlier that had made him even more tired.

"Leafpool?" Cloudtail's voice danced outside of the Medicine den.

"Come in." Jayfeather mewed. As much as he wanted to sleep, a cat needed help and it was his job to bring it.

"Oh!" The white warrior limped through the screen of lichen that hung across the den's entrance. "Jayfeather! Just the cat I wanted to see! On the evening patrol, a thorn stuck in my paw. It hurts really bad. I think it might be infected."

Jayfeather sprang to his paws and padded over to Cloudtail. Sure enough, a thorn was lodged in the thick pink flesh of Cloudtail's pad; pus oozing out from around it.

"This might hurt a bit." he warned. A wave of pain pulsed from the white warrior as Jayfeather clinched the thorn between his teeth and tugged. Cloudtail let out a yowl of agony. Blood flowed freely out of the wound now, so Jayfeather wrapped a swab of cobwebs around the paw.

"Stop making a fuss! Firestar is going to think a fox attacked you!"

"No fox could sneak up on me!" Cloudtail grunted, then fell silent again.

The blood had stopped and Jayfeather pressed a few marigold leaves onto the injury, letting the bitter juices seep into it. He applied new cobwebs around the marigold and told Cloudtail to stay off of it for a little while.

_Finally. Sleep._ Again, Jayfeather stepped into his nest. As soon as he lay his head down, sleep came.

_*************************_

_"Jayfeather." Jayfeather spun around, startled by the voice of ThunderClan's past Medicine cat, Yellowfang. _

_"What?" _

_"Something terrible is about to happen, Jayfeather. Something horrible." Jayfeather rolled his eyes and stepped closer. A pale mist swept through the clearing and a deep, throaty mew spoke from the forest._

_"Hello, Jayfeather. So nice to see my kin." Yellowfang froze. A dark tabby tom padded out of the forest, his amber eyes glittering in ambition. _

_"Tigerstar!" Jayfeather gasped in surprise. Cats doomed to walk the Place of No Stars couldn't pass into StarClan hunting grounds! Two other cats joined Tigerstar in the center of the clearing, one dark gray with black stripes and the other a long-furred dark tabby. Jayfeather recognized neither of them._

_"Darkstripe?! Brokentail?!" Yellowfang cried like a mewling kit. Brokentail glared at her like she had fed his kit a deathberry. "What are you three doing here?!"_

_"Lunar eclipse." Tigerstar explained. "The moon does not shine in Silverpelt tonight. The prisoners in the Place of No Stars are free to roam the skys while there is no moon."_

_Jayfeather shrunk back into the undergrowth, wanting to wake up but not able to. He watched in horror as Yellowfang marched up to Brokentail and Darkstripe and howled, "Darkstripe! You were Tigerstar's closest follower. You do not belong in this forest! Be gone!" A wind as cold as Yellowfang's words came from nowhere and pushed Darkstripe into the forest, drowning out his helplessly feeble cries of pain and fear._

_"Tigerstar!" she growled, clearly not ready to stop yet. "You murdered Redtail, Brindleface, almost Bluestar! You lead the dogs to our camp! You nearly destroyed ThunderClan! You are a ruthless evil murderer and StarClan will NOT tolerate your presence! Be gone!" The wind came back. It lifted the massive snarling tabby and flung him past the stars, back to where he belonged._

_Now Yellowfang turned to face Brokentail. Jayfeather could sense his fear after witnessing the disappearance of Darkstripe and Tigerstar, though he lifted his chin and showed nothing but cold-hearted pride in his eyes._

_"You." Yellowfang snarled. "My own son. I could never have been more disappointed and enraged at my own son. You killed your father, Raggedstar, the most caring tom in the world! He loved you! And so did I! But that was before you forced kits into apprenticeship at 3 moons, and made the whole of ShadowClan eat crow-food! You murdered innocent kits, then blamed and exiled me! You forced WindClan out of their territory! Then when Bluestar was kind enough to show you mercy, you betrayed us all and joined Tigerstar and the rogues!!" _

_Yellowfang was seething and an incredibly powerful wave of rage swept over Jayfeather, knocking him off of his paws. He landed in a bramble thicket two fox-lengths away and looked up just in time to hear a blood-curdling screech and watch Brokentail's broken and bleeding body being carried off by the wind, which was even stronger now, due to Yellowfang's anger._

_The gray Medicine cat raced off into the trees but Jayfeather heard a faint murmur of her voice._

_"Something terrible is about to happen Jayfeather. Something horrible." _

_"That wasn't just it?!" he hollered back after her, but a swirl of terrorizing winds had lifted into the sky. Jayfeather's words went unheard._

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**Soooooooo. How was it???? :) PLLLLLLLEEEASE say it was awesome!!!!! Just click that magical little review 'SEND REVIEW' button and say it was awesome!!!!!!!! ^^ C'mon! C'mon! C'mon!!!!!!!! **

**~Goldenstar**


	2. A Final Goodbye

**Ai chihuahua! Its been a long time since I've updated! Cut me a break though! Middle school is hard! **

**Anyway, starting now, my best friend, Dapplepaw, is going to my story commentator! WOOOOO! GO DAPPLEPAW!**

**Dapplepaw: *yawns* Starting anytime soon?**

**Me: Shut up! I'm working on it!**

**Dapplepaw: Seriously, Goldenstar! I have soccer practice at noon! **

**Me: *rolls eyes* Whatever, you're fine.**

**Dapplepaw: Hrmph...**

**Me: Let the story begin!**

**Dapplepaw: *grumbles* Finally...**

* * *

Jayfeather woke with a start. Brokentail and Tigerstar! They'd been in his dreams! Only StarClan were allowed to communicate with medicine cats! He took a deep breath, calming himself. Just then Leafpool padded in with a mouse. She dropped it at his feet and said, "You seemed very restless last night. You kept calling out like you had a badger on your tail! Honestly, if I hadn't been tending to Berrynose I'd have never gotten any sleep!"

"Sorry..." he grumbled, still drowsy with sleep and terror. "I'll, uh, go check the herbs." Jayfeather was eager for anything other than that dream to keep his mind at bay. He lumbered to the very back shelves of the den and sorted through each herb, making a mental list of what needed to be restocked.

"Catmint...goldenrod...tansy...poppy seeds...borage...burdock root...marigold...horsetail... Leafpool, we need more celandine, comfrey, juniper and yarrow!" he called.

An agonized shriek tore through the icy silence of dawn. Jayfeather spun around, fearing that Tigerstar and Brokentail were back to haunt him in reality. But, no. Leafpool raced out of their den, beckoning for Jayfeather to follow. Firestar was up, heading towards the entrance just like Leafpool, matching his daughter's pace stride for stride. Brambleclaw and Squirrelflight had joined them by the time they reached the training hollow, the source of that terrified yowl.

Jayfeather was the last to enter the sandy hollow. He heard Firestar's quick intake of breath and Squirrelflight's withdrawal from the front of the group. Brambleclaw, even though Jayfeather couldn't see it he knew, had stretched his eyes wide open. Laying there, covered in blood and sand, not breathing even a bit, the tortoiseshell body of a newly named warrior, was Poppyfrost.

* * *

**Sorry about the short chappie! I kinda ran out of ideas and its hard to get them back when SOMEONE coughdapplepawcough is watching over your shoulder!**

**Dapplepaw: I was helping you edit it!**

**Me: And again, whaaaatever!**

**Dapplepaw: .......**

**Me: Guess what? I'm starting to work on my first Songfic! **

**Dapplepaw: No comment.**

**Me: Sigh. Until next time, me out! Review please! **

**~Goldenstar of SunClan & Dapplepaw of ObnoxiousVille**

**Me: AHHH!!!! HELP ME! I'M BEING ATTACKED BY A VICIOUS DAPPLEPAWASAURUS!!!!!!!**


	3. Sweet Dreams

**Hiya! Hola! Aloha! Bonjour! Nazdar! Hoi! Salve! Hallo! Szia! Merhaba! I'm declangual! (I hope that's the word for it....) **

**Dapplepaw: Not even close.**

**Me: Crap! You're back! *grumble grumble***

**Dapplepaw: Can't get rid of me that easily.**

**Me: STOP RUINING MY FANTASY! **

**Dapplepaw: ....No comment....**

**Me: I SAID CUT IT OUT!**

**Dapplepaw: *gulp* ON WITH THE STORY!**

* * *

Jayfeather padded into the medicine cat's den and collapsed in his nest. It pained him to see a whole family torn apart. Even though, it had been a moon since Poppyfrost's death, the Clan still mourned for her. With the bitter chill of leaf-bare slowly creeping in, Leafpool was working him to his limit. Anytime he had anything that even _slightly _looked like no work, she gave more work. It was always collecting herbs, or checking on Millie and Daisy, or even fetching new moss. An apprentice job! _It's like she's conspiring against me! _

With a last grumble, sleep finally stretched out its icy claw and took hold of him. For the first time since his nightmare, he dreamt.

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_Jayfeather was in the forest. StarClan's territory. It was light and sunny, the brambles bustling with prey. Only a few puffy white clouds tainted the endless sapphire sea above his head. But this time, something was different. No cats that walked with StarClan padded out from the worn path that rippled its way through the forest. _

_A single cat sat on the other side of the clearing. With pale gray fur, the cat looked vaguely familiar. The cat turned around. Jayfeather gasped as he caught a glimpse of sparkling blue eyes. _

_"Jayfeather! What are you doing here?" Jayfeather looked at his paws, feeling his ears grow hot, but quickly shaking the sensation away._

_"I'm dreaming, Cinderheart. What about you?" Jayfeather retorted. __Cinderheart shot him a slightly annoyed look and he immediately regretted it._

_"Why are you in my dreams?" she asked._

_"Yeah. Like I can control it." He didn't mean to be sharp with Cinderheart, she had just lost her sister after all, but words spilled out of his mouth and just kept coming. _

_Hurt rolled off the pretty gray she-cat and she turned to walk away when Jayfeather said, "Wait! Look, I'm sorry. I know you still miss Poppyfrost..."_

_"Jayfeather, I'm not hurt because of Poppyfrost," Cinderheart said without turning around. "I'm hurt because..." Her voice trailed off into a whisper so Jayfeather couldn't hear anymore._

_"Um, what?" _

_"Cuzikindalikeyou..." Cinderheart's words blended into one and was still quiet, but it was loud enough for Jayfeather to hear._

_"You...you...you _like _me?" Jayfeather stuttered._

_Cinderheart looked down, ashamed and replied, "I know I shouldn't. You are a medicine cat...Besides, you probably don't feel the same." Jayfeather thought for a moment and the two cats sat in silence. He came across a shocking realization. That feeling he had felt before, when Poppyfrost's vigil was held, to comfort Cinderheart. Earlier just then, the hot in his ears. Love. That was what he was feeling._ That _must_ be it!

_"Cinderheart," he said quietly, "Don't sell yourself short. You are a beautiful cat. And I, I, I like you too."_

_The pretty gray she-cat's eyes shone. "Really? That's great, Jayfeather! But wait," The joyful look on her face disappeared. "We can't be together. The warrior code, Leafpool won't allow us!"_

_With no hesitation, Jayfeather replied, "We can meet here. At night in our dreams. Just remember this spot before you sleep and I will find you here."_

_"Oh, Jayfeather," Cinderheart rested her head on his shoulder and their tails twined._

_"We have to go back now, Cinderheart. It's almost morning," The sad expression on her face pained Jayfeather. He didn't want to leave her, but if they were to remain undiscovered, they had to return. "I'm sorry." _

_The two young cats back in their separate directions, stealing their last glimpses of each other until morning. At the edge of the clearing, Cinderheart said, "Good night, Jayfeather. Sweet dreams."_

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**Soooooo. How was it??? Review! Please! And don't forget to read my new story, Sunrise: A New Generation!**

**Laugh, grow, shampoo a squirrel,**

**Goldenstar**


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